I jabbed at the dummy as I focused on massacring it. Maybe it was him that I was pretending to stab, and maybe it wasn’t, but I sure enjoyed it.
Just as I started getting into it, Ryker stepped forward and clasped my wrist again. He used his feet to nudge my legs further apart as he adjusted my stance.
“Sharp, quick thrusts,” he instructed. “You’re not strong enough to take on many in the king’s guard, but you’re fast enough to do some damage. Go for fast jabs against them and move on. You may not kill them, but you can disable them enough to escape. If, for some reason, you can’t use your abilities against them, you’ll have to rely more on your speed than your strength.”
“I know.”
“Stay on the balls of your feet when you attack.”
“I feel stupid attacking a dummy.”
“Most of the enemies you’ll facearedummies.”
My mouth twitched toward a smile as I glanced at him. “Did you just make a joke?”
He smiled back at me. “I’m hilarious all the time too.”
I laughed, and for a second, all the tension between us melted away, and his eyes sparkled like they used to when he looked at me. Then he recalled himself as he released me and stepped away again.
“Get to work,” he said.
I rolled my eyes but focused on the task at hand. I couldn’t let Ryker distract me from the mission; we were working together for the good of Tempest. Together, we might be able to fix all the wrongs, or at least make it a little better for those who lived here.
Taking his advice, I went in for short, quick thrusts that sliced through the tattered clothes and spilled straw across the ground. The night was cooler than the day, but not by much, as sweat beaded my brow and slid down my nape. With one final blow, I disemboweled the dummy.
“I won!” I shouted as I lifted the sword and danced around the moonlit clearing.
The animals ignored me as they continued to sing their songs, but I lifted my sword up and down as I moved. I spun in a circle before stopping between two trees.
When I finished my victory dance, I turned to discover Ryker watching me in amusement, which he rarely did anymore. I lowered my sword as I beamed at him, but his smile faded.
“We’ll meet here again tomorrow,” he said.
I saluted him before slipping the sword into the holster he’d given me for it. The weight of it wasn’t bad on my waist. “When do you plan to make a move against someone?”
“I’m not sure. I want you as ready as possible before we do anything.”
I didn’t know how long it would take him to deem me ready, but I wasn’t in a rush. Once we started attacking the king and aristocrats, things would turn bloody real fast.
I was ready for things to change in Tempest, but I was not prepared to lose anyone I loved. It was only a matter of time before it happened.
One didn’t go to war without sacrificing far too much. I hoped I could survive those sacrifices.
CHAPTERFIFTY-THREE
Ryker
After leavingEllery in the woods, I returned to my father’s castle. It was where I least wanted to be, but it would only infuriate him if I went completely rogue, and he might take that out on Ellery.
Ever since she’d ended things with me, I rarely came back to this place, and even with her back in my life, no matter how distant we were, I didn’t plan on changing my ways. I despised my father andloathedthe castle he’d built while others suffered during the Ghoul War and its aftermath.
I also couldn’t change anything about the routine he’d come to expect after Ellery left me. The man who had donated his seed to my existence couldn’t suspect something had changed between us.
Instead of coming through the main entrance, I could open a portal into my apartment above, but I didn’t bother. This was my weekly drop-in to appease my father; if he didn’t see me, he might send some of his soldiers to look for me.
While I didn’t think they’d discover me in the Revenant Woods, it wasn’t a chance I was willing to take, even before I started training with Ellery. The less my father knew about my life, the better.
I didn’t make it halfway down the main hall before a servant emerged from my father’s private solar. “Milord, your father wishes to speak with you.”
